Tuesday, April 18, 2017

"Here's a paradox you don't hear much about: despite a century of creating machines to do our work for us, the proportion of adults in the US with a job has consistently gone up for the past 125 years."

Good Morning Folks,Here's a startling fact: in the 45 years since the introduction of the automated teller machine, those vending machines that dispense cash, the number of human bank tellers employed in the United States has roughly doubled, from about a quarter of a million to a half a million. A quarter of a million in 1970 to about a half a million today, with 100,000 added since the year 2000.Why hasn't human labor become redundant and our skills obsolete? In this talk about the future of work, economist David Autor addresses the question of why there are still so many jobs and comes up with a surprising, hopeful answer. Says David, "I don't have the guts to take that bet against human ingenuity. Look, I can't tell you what people are going to do for work a hundred years from now. But the future doesn't hinge on my imagination."Have a look.Have a GREAT day,

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer

Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form.TED Tuesdays on MitchWeiner.com highlights some of today's most intriguing ideas. Look for more talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more— HERE.

Monday, August 1, 2016

"This means we can’t go backward, and we can’t stand still. We can’t rest on our laurels and we can’t keep doing what we’ve always done — even if we are doing our best, we need to keep doing it better."

Good Morning Folks,"Innovation" is one of those buzzwords you hear all the time. People are always talking about being a "leader in innovation" or "taking innovation into the twenty-first century". It can look like some kind of innovation nation out there. It's hard to tell who is devoted to innovation and who is simply paying lip service to It. We at FSO are serious about innovation. So serious that we use the word (re) IMAGINE to define who we are: a partner dedicated to always finding new and better ways to improve service, lower costs and take better care of people.I believe complacency is when innovation ends. The advantage every business has, but few in our industry leverage to the advantage that we do, is the ability to innovate and reinvent. So many great companies lose their edge and end up playing catch-up until they're obsolete. That’s not going to happen here.Dramatic paradigm sights are occurring in every industry, YOUR industry because traditional barriers to entry don't exist anymore. If you don't think a new era of change and creative destruction isn't headed to your door step, you are sadly mistaken. If you want to be on top, you have to look at innovation in a new, interactive way. You have to believe it is worth coin, its worth doing wrong. You have to be willing to try your model, test it, innovate around it, get out, screw up, and then do it right. You have to understand that speed is everything in an electronic realm because you can fix mistakes before anyone realizes that mistakes were made.We are facing the biggest transformation the way business is conducted since the industrial revolution. If you are willing to innovate, you are taking steps towards crashing your competition.The problem according to ANTHONY IANNARINO of there sales blog is change, He writes:

==> Change is more difficult than you believe. Having an intellectual understanding the reason something needs to change isn’t enough. An emotional need to change is necessary and more powerful.

==> Change is psychological. You first have to have a shift in your mindset, your personal philosophy, your personal psychology. Without that shift, there will be no change.

Why something is being changed is more important than how that change is accomplished.

==> Change takes longer than you believe. It takes longer to sell, longer to build consensus, and longer to execute before results are seen. It is mistake to believe the results of change will be realized quickly, even though change happens in a second

==> Change comes with built-in enemies. The very fact that you are trying to make change will cause some to oppose you. Resistance is your enemy when you try to change yourself.

Most change initiatives die not because the idea isn’t good or necessary but because it was poorly executed. The change is usually poorly executed because it lacks executive engagement. People are exceptionally gifted at waiting out change initiatives.

We overestimate what we can accomplish in a short period of time and underestimate what we accomplish over a longer period. When results don’t come fast, change initiatives are often abandoned. The better results were only a little bit further.

==> Sometimes change initiatives fail because too many variables are changed at once. One major change might have been enough to produce a result, but because so much was attempted, nothing really changed. When too much is changed, you can’t easily figure out what is working and what isn’t.

Radical change very quickly becomes the new status quo. It soon develops its own defenders who protect it from future change.

As an owner and CEO, I am keenly aware that rapid change in business and technology is the “new normal.” The only way for our company to survive, let alone thrive, is to continuously reinvent and redefine— everything.This means we can’t go backward, and we can’t stand still. We can’t rest on our laurels and we can’t keep doing what we’ve always done — even if we are doing our best, we need to keep doing it better.The spirit of innovation is a cornerstone of our company. Because at FSO, we never stop rethinking, refreshing and (re)IMAGINING a better future for our clients. We work together with our clients to foster innovation. Our process contains not only a method for generating ideas, but also a system for managing change. Similar to our methodology for continuous improvement, we challenge all levels of our organization to challenge the status quo. We reward continuous improvement and innovation; as a result our employees are motived to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation. Our employees are expected to always seek new ways to make our client’s life better through our white glove treatment; the whole FSO Experience. It is not just a tagline for our brand – rather, it is the culture that drives everything we do.Since our founding six short years ago, we’ve matured from just a service provider among many, to a true strategic partner like no other. In over 160 client sites nationally we’ve become "entrenched" and so "important" to how our clients operate from the first impression - to amazing smiles and hospitality - to all services from mail, copy, records, conference centers, security, concierge, IT and much more. We are the glue that makes our clients business run seamlessly. We are part of their company, and critical to their success.To our team: You have been given the opportunity to show what you’re made of, to be so much stronger and better than you were just the day before, and to show the world of business a better way. So as you get ready to start your day take a second to think; how am I contributing to my clients' success? How can I be better?How can I get to infinity and beyond? How can I be that star, that hero that brings to our clients all the positive change, wealth and success they deserve?IT IS YOU that makes FSO who we are. Love Life!

S. ANTHONY IANNARINO is the President and Chief Sales officer for SOLUTIONS Staffing, a best-in-class regional staffing service based in Columbus, OhioHe is also the Managing Director of B2B Sales Coach & Consultancy, a boutique sales coaching and consulting company where he works to help salespeople and sales organizations improve and reach their full potential. And he works ass an adjunct faculty member at Capital University’s School of Management and Leadership. Anthony teaches Personal Selling in the undergraduate program, and I teach Persuasive Marketing and Social Media Marketing in the MBA program.

Monday, March 28, 2016

"Exceptional service is not found solely in the monumental—the oversized errands or the last-minute changes. It is achieved through every moment of kindness, care, and sincerity that we share with our clients."

Good Morning Folks,Welcome to spring and a great time to clean out the old and blossom the new,What another AWESOME week ahead at FSO! Here are some of the things we have in store:

Kim, Chelsea, and I will host a Fireside chat with a select group tonight

I am especially excited about our Fireside Chats which affords a rare opportunity for a diverse group of employees to meet directly with ownership and top executives to discuss what's on THEIR minds, as well as brainstorm how we can become more profitable and productive. How we can improve teamwork and add an even more personal touch to how we do business. Watching as we bounce ideas left & right in these chats ignites a fire in not only me but in other employees as well.Then tomorrow our management team comes together their monthly Leadership Strategies meeting, part of a major initiative to develop and nurture all levels of company management into stronger leaders. The Leadership Strategies program is a groundbreaking concept in the outsourcing industry. We simply aim to make managers stronger leaders, for if they are not how can we continue to exceed our customer’s expectations?

As you often hear, there is nothing more important than having GREAT people in our company and we are ALWAYS looking to add talent to our team. In addition to the positions that we are always sourcing for, we have the following approved needs:

New York· Facilities· Security Officer

San Jose, CA· Lab Associate

Philadelphia, PA· Office Service Associate

Chicago, IL· Floater· Hospitality RepresentativeConcord, CA· Office Service AssociateNew Jersey· Mailroom AssociateI promise everyone a career at our company, not just a job. That's why I am excited that our next Future Leaders Program congratulatory letters are going out this week. Congratulations to everyone who has been accepted into our Future Leader's Program program, and great job in continuing to OWN your careerIt takes courage and commitment to learning new things to inspire others, which prevents stagnant job performance and careers. I am excited to see our programs will unlock the full potential we know our managers already have.At FSO, industry leading training, incentives, rewards, recognition and a TRUE career path sit at the heart of a successful company culture. To learn how an FSO partnership can unlock your own firm’s growth potential, contact Mitch Weiner at (212) 204-1193 or CLICK HERE to email Mitch, directly.Keep SPOTTING TALENT and keep sending us your referrals to psteam@fso-outsourcing.com.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

"Positive working relationships and feeling good while at work are really important when looking at overall employee health and well being."

Good Morning Folks,Just under half (42%) of workers felt positive relationships helped them to feel good at work, compared with a mere 14% for hitting their targets.

In the survey of more than 1,400 workers by HR Magazine in the UK, "having a good work/life balance was the second (40%) most common reason for feeling good at work, followed by receiving praise (26%) and earning the trust (16%) of their boss."

The survey also revealed only 4% of workers felt team activities including 'away-days' made them feel good at work.

Organizations with healthy, happy employees can find they see improvements in productivity and results. The survey results demonstrate how looking out for each other's well being and having a good work / life balance is essential."

Ar FSO, It’s to the credit of our fast-paced and results-oriented environment. Our team members are all energized by our growth, leadership position in the marketplace and the integral role they play in our success. At FSO, every team member matters. In fact, due to the very nature of our business, without our people and their unique skill sets and perspective, FSO would not be the leader that it is today.

The FSO culture celebrates the differences of our people and what we all collectively bring to the table. One of our most important characteristics is the diversity of our team members… our backgrounds… the way we think… the way we see the world. All of these different perspectives are critical to our success and speak directly to the culture here.

Clients also say that our company excels at attracting people with a great work ethic and an upbeat attitude. “They are very positive and incredibly helpful, considerate and kind,” said the COO of New York-based media giant, who uses FSO to staff the mailroom and front desk and fill administrative posts. “The first candidate they send me usually nails the criteria I’m looking for, so my time isn’t wasted meeting five people in order to hire the right one.”

This is what underlies the difference between the happiest jobs and the most hated jobs. One set of jobs feels worthwhile, while in the other jobs, people can’t see the point.

The problems in the most hated jobs can’t be solved by job redesign or clearer career paths. Instead the organizations must undertake fundamental change to manage themselves in a radically different way with a focus on delighting the customer through continuous innovation and all the consequent changes that are needed to accomplish that.

We believe in lavishing praise, giving sincere thanks, looking for the best in everyone, never criticizing and catch ‘em being good! We set the precedent, telling people what they are doing right, and specifically why they are of value— raising the bar to a higher level.

The result of this philosophy is happy customers, workers who can see meaning in their contributions and soaring profits for those clients who place their trust in us.

Friday, October 30, 2015

"Yes, life is tough, but you are tougher. Find the strength to laugh every day. Find the courage to feel different, yet beautiful. Find it in your heart to make others smile too. Don’t stress over things you can’t change. Live simply. Love generously. Speak truthfully. Work diligently. And even if you fall short, keep going. Keep growing."

Good Morning Folks,Our friends Marc and Angel are two passionate writers, life-hackers, and the authors of 1000 Little Things Happy Successful People Do Differently. Here’s their list of 8 things to remember when everything goes wrong. Awake every morning and do your best to follow this daily TO-DO list:Think positively. Eat healthy. Exercise today. Worry less. Work hard. Laugh often. Sleep well. Repeat…#1. Pain is part of growing.Sometimes life closes doors because it’s time to move forward. And that’s a good thing because we often won’t move unless circumstances force us to. When times are tough, remind yourself that no pain comes without a purpose. Move on from what hurt you, but never forget what it taught you. Just because you’re struggling doesn’t mean you’re failing. Every great success requires some type of worthy struggle to get there. Good things take time. Stay patient and stay positive. Everything is going to come together; maybe not immediately, but eventually.Remember that there are two kinds of pain: pain that hurts and pain that changes you. When you roll with life, instead of resisting it, both kinds help you grow.#2. Everything in life is temporary.Every time it rains, it stops raining. Every time you get hurt, you heal. After darkness there is always light – you are reminded of this every morning, but still you often forget, and instead choose to believe that the night will last forever. It won’t. Nothing lasts forever.So if things are good right now, enjoy it. It won’t last forever. If things are bad, don’t worry because it won’t last forever either. Just because life isn’t easy at the moment, doesn’t mean you can’t laugh. Just because something is bothering you, doesn’t mean you can’t smile. Every moment gives you a new beginning and a new ending. You get a second chance, every second. You just have to take it and make the best of it. (Read The Last Lecture.)#3. Worrying and complaining changes nothing. Those who complain the most, accomplish the least. It’s always better to attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed. It’s not over if you’ve lost; it’s over when you do nothing but complain about it. If you believe in something, keep trying. Don’t let the shadows of the past darken the doorstep of your future. Spending today complaining about yesterday won’t make tomorrow any brighter. Take action instead. Let what you’ve learned improve how you live. Make a change and never look back.And regardless of what happens in the long run, remember that true happiness begins to arrive only when you stop complaining about your problems and you start being grateful for all the problems you don’t have.#4. Your scars are symbols of your strength.Don’t ever be ashamed of the scars life has left you with. A scar means the hurt is over and the wound is closed. It means you conquered the pain, learned a lesson, grew stronger, and moved forward. A scar is the tattoo of a triumph to be proud of. Don’t allow your scars to hold you hostage. Don’t allow them to make you live your life in fear. You can’t make the scars in your life disappear, but you can change the way you see them. You can start seeing your scars as a sign of strength and not pain.Rumi once said, “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most powerful characters in this great world are seared with scars. See your scars as a sign of “YES! I MADE IT! I survived and I have my scars to prove it! And now I have a chance to grow even stronger.”

#5. Every little struggle is a step forward.

In life, patience is not about waiting; it’s the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard on your dreams, knowing that the work is worth it. So if you’re going to try, put in the time and go all the way. Otherwise, there’s no point in starting. This could mean losing stability and comfort for a while, and maybe even your mind on occasion. It could mean not eating what, or sleeping where, you’re used to, for weeks on end. It could mean stretching your comfort zone so thin it gives you a nonstop case of the chills. It could mean sacrificing relationships and all that’s familiar. It could mean accepting ridicule from your peers. It could mean lots of time alone in solitude. Solitude, though, is the gift that makes great things possible. It gives you the space you need. Everything else is a test of your determination, of how much you really want it.

And if you want it, you’ll do it, despite failure and rejection and the odds. And every step will feel better than anything else you can imagine. You will realize that the struggle is not found on the path, it is the path. And it’s worth it. So if you’re going to try, go all the way. There’s no better feeling in the world… there’s no better feeling than knowing what it means to be ALIVE. (Angel and Mark discuss this in more detail in the “Goals and Success” chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)

#6. Other people’s negativity is not your problem.

Be positive when negativity surrounds you. Smile when others try to bring you down. It’s an easy way to maintain your enthusiasm and focus. When other people treat you poorly, keep being you. Don’t ever let someone else’s bitterness change the person you are. You can’t take things too personally, even if it seems personal. Rarely do people do things because of you. They do things because of them.

Above all, don’t ever change just to impress someone who says you’re not good enough. Change because it makes you a better person and leads you to a brighter future. People are going to talk regardless of what you do or how well you do it. So worry about yourself before you worry about what others think. If you believe strongly in something, don’t be afraid to fight for it. Great strength comes from overcoming what others think is impossible.

All jokes aside, your life only comes around once. This is IT. So do what makes you happy and be with whoever makes you smile, often.

#7. What’s meant to be will eventually, BE.

True strength comes when you have so much to cry and complain about, but you prefer to smile and appreciate your life instead. There are blessings hidden in every struggle you face, but you have to be willing to open your heart and mind to see them. You can’t force things to happen. You can only drive yourself crazy trying. At some point you have to let go and let what’s meant to be, BE.

In the end, loving your life is about trusting your intuition, taking chances, losing and finding happiness, cherishing the memories, and learning through experience. It’s a long-term journey. You have to stop worrying, wondering, and doubting every step of the way. Laugh at the confusion, live consciously in the moment, and enjoy your life as it unfolds. You might not end up exactly where you intended to go, but you will eventually arrive precisely where you need to be. (Read A New Earth.)

#8. The best thing you can do is to keep going.

Don’t be afraid to get back up – to try again, to love again, to live again, and to dream again. Don’t let a hard lesson harden your heart. Life’s best lessons are often learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes. There will be times when it seems like everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong. And you might feel like you will be stuck in this rut forever, but you won’t. When you feel like quitting, remember that sometimes things have to go very wrong before they can be right. Sometimes you have to go through the worst, to arrive at your best.

Yes, life is tough, but you are tougher. Find the strength to laugh every day. Find the courage to feel different, yet beautiful. Find it in your heart to make others smile too. Don’t stress over things you can’t change. Live simply. Love generously. Speak truthfully. Work diligently. And even if you fall short, keep going. Keep growing.

“Everything is temporary, this too shall pass” is a phrase that always comes to my mind whenever things are not going well. All of these are excellent reminders. If you enjoyed this Marc and Angel’s tips, share them with your friends and family.If you enjoy this, be sure to check out their website for more inspirational advice and practical tips to improve your life. Have you checked out our book, “1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently” It includes an eBook, audio book, paperback and bonus material on sale for a big discount. Click here to check it out!

We are a great team. We are a great company. We have great people. You have to come every day with your game day ready to go. Let's see how many football teams remember that this weekend.Have a Happy, Healthy, Safe, Fun and Refreshing Holiday Weekend,

Love Life!

Mitchell D. Weiner

Chief Happiness Officer

......................................................................................"Remember that you deserve to be happy. It's your natural-born right."......................................................................................

Friday, October 9, 2015

Good Morning Folks,
A couple of years ago, Adam Dachisapr, on a assignment for Lifehacker, put together, "Top 10 Highly-Desired Skills You Can Teach Yourself."
On countless occasions, you've likely said to yourself "I wish I knew how to do ______."
Then, of course, life got in the way and you put it off until you could find the time.
Maybe you wanted to become fluent in a language, learn a new instrument, start performing your house repairs, or a master a myriad of other skills.
With the vast amount of knowledge online, you're now your only excuse.==> 10 Diserable Skills You Can Teach Yourself Right Now BY ADAM DACHISAPR10. Repair Just About AnythingSure, you don't need to repair anything anymore. You can just pay someone else todo it. But where's the ingenuity in that? Plus, who wants to waste a bunch of moneyon simple tasks you can handle on your own?
If you've adopted the DIY spirit, learning to repair your own stuff is one of theeasiest and more rewarding skills you can acquire. It's especially fruitful becauseas you learn new things, you can put them to use right away.
So how do you teach yourself?
We've outlined tons of repairs you can learn on your own to get you started, but if you're looking for something specific there is no shortage of how-to videos available on YouTube. There will be occasions when you do need to call a professional, as you're not going to be a master repairman (or woman) instantly, but do remember that there is an opportunity when things break: you can learn howto fix them.9. Pick Up an Artistic Skill Like Illustration, Painting, or PhotographyAlthough it often won't earn you the big bucks, artistic skills are highly desired because they provide you with the technical abilities required to create something beautiful. You're going to have to find your own inspiration and subject matter, but the skill you'll need is really just a matter of technical aptitude and practice.Picking up a book of anatomy and drawing different bones and muscles will teach you how to draw people.
Drawing grids over photographs can show you basic perspective. Obviously it isn'tas simple as that, but focusing on learning to draw one simple thing, like the petalsof a flower or the human hand, will help you learn how it works and get in a reasonableamount of practice. When you're ready to move on from the basics and start illustratingon your computer, check out our digital painting lessons. For those of you interestedin photography, we have lessons for you, too.
Whatever you're looking to learn, just set aside 15-30 minutes every day to practicea very small part of that skill. It'll take awhile to teach yourself how to draw, paint, take better photos, make hamburger sculptures out of clay, or whatever it is you want to do, but breaking the daunting task into pieces and practicing each part slowly will do the trick. Plus, it's a really nice way to unwind at the end of the day.8. Learn to Defend YourselfWho likes getting their ass kicked? Probably a very small majority. If that's what you're into, it doesn't require much skill-just endurance. If you'd prefer to not end up hurt or injured as the result of an unexpected attack, perhaps it's time to pick up some self-defense skills.
While you'll probably want to have a partner around to help you out-at least when you want to test your skill-we've outlined several self-defense moves that you can learn on your own. Although you will hopefully never need to actually employ the techniques you acquire, if you do you'll increase your chances of coming out of a fight unharmed. Plus, it's pretty cool to walk around with the confidence of being able to take on most anyone in a fight.7. Improve Your Design Skills (or At Least Acquire a Sense of Style)Design and style aren't an exact science, as tastes differ and change as time goes on, but there are a few principles you can pick up that'll make your work, home, or whatever needs an aesthetic boost looking better than average. If we're talking traditional design, you'll first want to learn the basics of type and layout.
These are skills you can employ in your everyday work to make it look a lot more attractive. This may seem like a nearly-useless skill, because spreadsheets aren't getting entered in any beauty contests, but when something looks good it can have a greater impact. That's always a plus in your work. If you want to take things a bit further, you can bump those skills up a notch and apply them to web site design in Photoshop. Your sense of style is even a useful thing when choosing a great wallpaper and creating a clean and organized desktop on your computer.
If your home is boring, just follow these guidelines for awesome interior design. You don't have to be a pro, but learning the basics of design can make your life a lot brighter.6. Pick Up Just About Any Subject You Missed In CollegeWhether it's science, finance, math, humanities, law, or anything else, if there's a course you wish you took in college you're not out of luck-you can probably find it online. To help you out, we've rounded up every great source of online education so you can gain that knowledge you missed. What's great about learning online is that you can take it at your own pace and put in as much time as you can spare each day. You don't necessarily have to master a subject, either, but learn as much as you need or want to know. While you won't end up with a degree for your hard work, you will be a little bit smarter-and that's the most important part.5. Build and Hack Electronic HardwareWe love technology, and we love it more when we can make it do pretty much whateverwe want. There is almost no end to what you can hack, but getting started does requireteaching yourself a few skills.Learning to build a computer is a good place to start.Soldering is especially helpful, and understanding the basics of arduino can help you build some really neat stuff.
One of the best ways to get started is to pick a project and learn by doing.4. Play a (New) InstrumentWhether you already know how to play an instrument and want to learn something newor are musically inept, you'll find plenty of resources online to help you teach yourself to play just about anything. If guitar is your thing, you're in luck as you'd be hard-pressed to not find online lessons.
The Internet can also teach you piano, drums, and even orchestral instruments like the flute and violin. Just like with repair skills, you can find a lot of how-to videos on both YouTube.
In addition to the instrument, you're also going to want to learn a little music theory.3. Cook Like a ProWith so many recipe sites and cooking skill how-to videos online, it's a surprise that everyone isn't a master chef at this point. There are so many simple things you can learn that can vastly improve your culinary skill set really quickly, many of which we've covered. We've written so much on the subject of learning to cook better that this little paragraph isn't enough to cover it all, but there are a few posts in particular that you'll want to read to get started.
First, these tips and tricks for budding foodies will make your learning process easier. Second, follow this station-by-station kitchen guide to stay organized and efficient when cooking. Finally, these must-know recipes will help you round out your arsenal of cooking knowledge. 2. Become Fluent in a New LanguageWhen we asked you which skills you really wanted to learn, language was at, or close to the top of many peoples' lists. Fortunately for you,this clever technique offers a way to all but master a new language in a short period of time by teaching yourself. You'll still have to work hard and put in the minutes every day, but you can come out speaking fluently in about half of a year. Pretty cool.1. Make a Web Site, Create an App, or Just Learn to Code Learning to code is something most of us Lifehackers aspire to do at one point or another, as it's not only a great way to create cool apps and tools that we want to use but it's also an incredibly marketable skill when trying to get a job. To get you started, we've put together two helpful sets of lessons: the basics of programming and making a web site.
Both sets include further resources, but there are plenty of others that we've learned about or have cropped up since. For starters, commenter mistermocha suggests using the "learn ___ the hard way" series.
If you just fill in the blank with the language you want to learn and put that into a web search, you'll likely find what you're looking for. (You can also find most of the series here.) If you prefer more interactive lessons, you'll want to check out one of our favorites: Codecademy.
I learned by subscribing to online learning site Lynda.com (and through a few basic classes back in college), which is still excellent, but I'd probably have gone with Code Academy at this point since it's in the free category.
Regardless of how you decide to learn, programming skills are becoming more and more useful as time goes on. Code is not as complicated as you think, so go get started!As we head out for an awesome weekend with Fall in the air, know that the future is bright, and I promise you that I personally could not be more focused on helping each and every one of you achieve your greatest success.

Thanks to Adam for sharing, and to you for listening.Have a HAPPY, SAFE and HEALTHY Weekend.

Monday, September 28, 2015

"Regardless of where you work, always continue to learn what makes leaders successful and what makes them fail"

Good Morning Folks,As I have often reminded our teams, anything is possible. Regardless of where you work, or what you do, always continue to learn what makes people successful and what makes them fail.Because.. The most important resource in the entire universe is YOU. Products, services, innovation, ideas, breakthroughs – they all exist in your head, your heart and your hands. The output of your thinking, the engaging of your heart and the enlistment of your hands create profound results.“Successful people do what unsuccessful people can’t do”. Find me anyone with skip, fire and twinkle who wants to learn and grow, and I will promise you a career in my company, never just a job. No one ever sets out to be average at FSO, we need to be the best at everything we do.

I am forever grateful to you all for being such a loyal audience and for the great feedback you've been sending my way. I really appreciate it!Great leadership seems easy when things are good and everybody's happy. When times grow tough, however, a leader's true colors are revealed.Ten years ago, a group of U.S. soldiers tasted combat for the first time in Sadr City, Iraq. Bill Murphy Jr. got to know one of the junior U.S. leaders in that battle when he wrote a book about West Point and wartime. Murphy chronicles the lives of representative 2002 graduates of the United States Military Academy. A former trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice and an army veteran, Murphy was protégé of celebrity journalist Bob Woodward and has military experience that may have helped him connect to his subjects and perhaps encouraged them to be open with him. He also reported from Iraq for the Post. Here's an excerpt from In Time of War that first appeared in INC:

Dave Swanson was a 26-year-old lieutenant then. He's out of the military now, and we talked recently about what he learned by leading 40 soldiers in 82 straight days of combat. Most of us probably won't be taking a platoon into a hail of gunfire anytime soon, but applying these principles can greatly improve your effectiveness as a leader, no matter what challenges you face.

1. Control your fear.As bullets whizzed by him for the first time, Swanson says he was very much afraid. However, he realized he had to subdue his fear because his soldiers were looking to him for clues as to how they should react.

Courage doesn't mean the absence of fear, and of course being a leader certainly doesn't mean charging ahead blindly in the face of adversity. It does mean you can't allow your fear to become contagious. Your team needs to believe you're in control of yourself, if they're to have confidence that you can make smart decisions in tough times.

2. Remember that the mission comes first.You owe a lot to your team for giving you the privilege of placing their trust in you. First on the list, you owe them a goal worth dedicating their efforts to, and you need to demonstrate that you're willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it.

"I say complete the mission at minimal expense to the people," Swanson says. "Every military leader will publicly say that the mission comes first, but we always accomplished the mission with the soldiers in mind."

3. Remember that the mission comes before you, too.The only way that "mission-first" mantra can work is if your people truly believe that you will put the mission before yourself, too. In a life-imitates-art moment, Swanson says that in the heat of combat, he thought of a line from the 2001 HBO miniseries, Band of Brothers: "The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you're already dead. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be able to function as a soldier."

In combat, this means being willing to risk your own safety for others in the unit and the mission. In other contexts, it means demonstrating that you'll sacrifice your personal short-term interests for the team's goal. Otherwise, how can you ask them to do so?

4. Rely on your preparation.Swanson spent years preparing for battle. He had been an enlisted solider, he spent four years at West Point, and he trained for nearly two years after graduation. While training alone will never quite prepare you to lead in real life, he says, it's as close as you can get to the real thing.

The same principle applies in any leadership context. Think ahead of time about how you'll react to tough situations, so you can free your mind in crucial moments to react and adapt quickly.

5. Be tough, but human."To those who have been in combat," Swanson explains, "you live by hardness, intuition, and compassion."

As an example, he stayed awake and on duty for 60 straight hours at the start of the battle, pushing himself until he physically collapsed, but he also found moments of humanity and even humor in the heat of combat. Your team needs to know that you're tough, but also that you're reacting to the world around you like an engaged leader, not a machine.

6. Encourage your people.Business is rarely a matter of life and death, but war certainly is. One of Swanson's soldiers, Specialist Jacob Martir, was killed in action during the months of fighting, and several others were wounded and sent home to hospitals in the U.S.

"It absolutely ate me alive to lose anyone in the platoon," Swanson says. However, he realized that it fell to him to encourage his soldiers and inspire them to keep going. "They were all special. The next day after any [casualty], I would remind them that each of them had already sacrificed themselves for each other on a daily basis--and how, if required, I would sacrifice myself for any of them."

7. Communicate effectively.In the heat of battle, it's easy--almost natural--to shut down everything else and focus exclusively on the job at hand. That's a dangerous inclination, however. It's important to make communicating what's going on a priority as well. Your team and all of your stakeholders need to know what's going on, or they can't contribute.

"Early on in combat, radio communications weren't always the greatest, but that was no excuse," Swanson says. "When technology fails--and it always does at the worst possible moment--you need to have backup ways of getting and giving information."

8. Use your resources wisely. But use them.Especially in the first days of combat, Swanson's unit dealt with destroyed and unarmored vehicles, and insufficient supplies of almost every sort. More important, confusion, combat, and casualties left them critically short of soldiers.

At the same time, they made full use of everything they had. At the end of the first week of fighting, for example, Swanson reflected that he had personally gone through ten 30-round magazines, meaning he had fired 300 bullets at the enemy. Just about everyone else in his platoon had, as well.

9. Imitate the leaders who inspire you.When Swanson had to act in the heat of battle, especially when his soldiers' eyes were on him, he thought back to the lessons he had learned at West Point, and some of the other leaders he had known and respected. He also found himself asking a question that has circulated for years among military leaders as a sort of joke: "What would John Wayne do?"

"Regardless of where you work, always continue to learn what makes leaders successful and what makes them fail," he says.

We have amazing employees, customers and leaders at FSO. Thanks to our employees for all you do for us, and to our clients for awarding us with the privilege of serving you.Have a GREAT day as I look forward to seeing all of you soon.

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